Nut and retainer assembly



Nov. 10, 1953 2,658,546

E. C. CROWTHER NUT AND RETAINER ASSEMBLY Filed June 1, 1950 1 I HMHIIYT HHFTT n F 'wu H I l 56 35 30. L M

Z INVENTOR.

Patented Nov. 10, 1953 2 4 NUT AND RETAINER ASSEMBLY Edmond C. Crowther, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Illinois Tool Works, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application June 1, 1950, Serial'No .?1BB,543 3 Claims. (01. 151-41376) 2 This invention relates generally to a nut and Referring now to the drawings wherein like retainer assembly, and more specifically to an numerals have been employed to designatesimiassembly wherein the nut has tapered side walls lar parts throughout the various figures, it will and the nut retainer consists of a sheet metal be seen that a nut cagedevice assembly of the stamping. It is an object of this invention to 5 type contemplated by this inventionis designated provide an economical nut retaining or cage generally by thenumeral l0.

device which includes anut made from standard This assembly [6 includes a nut member l2 stock, and a sheet metal cage member requiring (best seen in Fig. 3) having convergingside wall a minimum amount of material and presenting portions Ill and it and a threaded aperture I3 a very simple and practical design. 10 extending through the body. The nut is pro- It is another object of this invention to provide vided with one or more recesses, herein shown a nut retainer device or assembly wherein the as two recesses i8 and 20, in the side walls i i nut member is securely retained within and and (6, respectively, of thenut. against separation from a sheet metal retainer, A sheet metal retainer member 22, which forms while at the same time providing the desired the second element or the assembly it consists amount-of float between the parts to facilitate 0f a strip of sheet metal bent intermediate its registration of said nut member with a comends to provide abaseorbight portion-2 i having plementary screw member. a centrally located aperture '25. This aperture It is a further'objec't 'of this invention to pro- 25 overlies the tapped hole of the nut member vide a nut retainer dev ce "of the yp e r d liar-id arms or converging wall portions and to above which permits the clamping face-of the 2 3 adjacenfly superimpose th Walls mm; f nut to be positioned immediately adjacent the the nut. The free extremities of said strip e2:- work piece. This eliminates the objection found tending from the end of said wall portions 25 in many structures now on the market wherein and 23 provide attaching means r tabs and one or more thicknesses of the cage member 25 As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the attaching material is positioned between the work piece means of t t cage device or assembly n and the Cl mp Surface of the i ar adapted to be affixed to a work piece 33 by It is still another object of this mvent1on to Welding or riveting. provide a nut and retainer assembly comprised It should be noted that tabs and which of elements which may be assembled after each are struck from the attaching portions of said elements has been completely fabricated. of the retainer 22 extend b 610W the plane of said Another object of this invention is to provide attaching portions These tabs are used a nut retainer device having locating means to 1 t fi d d M t d t fflu; t facilitate installation where the device is seas cm or n 815 an are 0 a o cured to a work piece, as by welding and the like. 5 W aperture 37 as shown In 2) thereby These and other objects of the invention shall locatmg the assembly relatlve the Work P becOme more obvious f m a Emmy of the mu 33 prior to the permanent attachment thereto. mg specification in conjunction with the accom- Other tabs or fingers 38 and 455? are struck from panying drawing wherein: the retainer body in the vicinity of said base Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form 40 and extend into the recesses 18-20, respectively. of a nut cage device or nut and retainer assembly These fingers are adapted to be sw-aged or decontemplated by the present invent on; formed into the recesses or cavities l3 and 20 Fi 2 is a Sectional VieW 0f the nut Cage device of the nut, thereby retaining the nut member shown in Fig. 1 a d taken along the line 1242; against transverse or lateral separation relative 3 is a perspective 'Q of h nut m 4.5 to the sheet metal retainer member.

ufied in the form of nut retamer deuce shown In It is contemplated that in some instances the 1; nut 12 will first be assembled with the retainer Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank from which the sheet metal retainer member of Figs. 1 and 2 may be formed;

Fig. 5 is "a cross-sectional View of another form of the nut cage device contemplated by the inmember 22, and thereafter finger means 38 and it deform 2d into cavities i8 and it. However, in those instances where the retain r member is made of a relatively gauge resilient mavention taken along the line of Fig. terial, it is contemplated that these finger means Fig 6 is a plan View of t t and retainer 3t and it may :be formed before assembly of the assembly shown in Fig. 5; parts. In such instances the nut may be snapped Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the nut and reo p s n Wi hin the retainer member.

tainer assembly shown in Figs. 5 and 6; Fig. '5 shows another embodiment of the in- Fig. 8 discloses still another embodiment of venticn, and in all respects, with the exception a nut and retainer assembly of the type conof the attaching means 33a and 32a, is the same templated by the present invention; and as the device shown in Fig. 1. In this embodi- Fig; '9 is a perspective view of the nut member ment, as is best seen in Fig. 6, the attaching used in the assembly shown in Fig. 8. means Ella and 3211 are in the form of tabs or lugs. It is contemplated that the nut may fit loosely within the body of the sheet metal retainer member 20a, and therefore sufficient space between the nut body I2a and the retainer member is afiorded to allow flexing of the walls of the retainer body, thereby permitting the attaching portions 35a and 32a to enter the work aperture. Upon being released the portions 30a32a will engage the undersurface of the panel to retain the assembly in mounted position on the panel 33.

It should be noted that the disclosure in Fig. 5 includes depressed portions 42a and Ma providing recesses for accommodating the attaching portions of the retainer so as to eliminate projection of the attaching portions below the general plane of the under-surface of the work piece.

This permits the work assembled therewith to I be brought into flush contact with the undersurface of the work piece. As previously indicated the finger portions 38a and 40a, in this embodiment, are specially formed to permit assembly of the nut into the completely formed and finished retainer member. This is accomplished by transversely arching the fingers 38a and 40a, Fig. 6, thereby providing the fingers with cam surfaces so that the nut may be passed between and beyond the fingers until said fingers are opposite the recesses 18a and 2011, when they will snap into these recesses and retain the nut in permanent assembly.

In Figs. 8 and 9 still another embodiment of the nut cage device lflbis shown. In this embodiment a collar 46b is provided on the nut body i217 and serves as the retaining means to prevent lateral or transverse separation of the nut relative to the retainer member 241). Obviously in this form the finger portions 39 and 40, as shown in Fig. l, are eliminated as well as the recesses l8 and in the nut member, as shown in Fig. 3. The aperture 255 in the retainer member has a larger dimension than the external diameter of the collar, thereby permitting the nut member to float within the retainer member b. The attaching means 301) and 3219, as disclosed, are adapted for welding or riveting but it is contemplated that this form of nut cage device might also be equipped with retainer means of the type disclosed in Figs. 5 and 6, as described above.

In all of the forms disclosed, for purposes of illustrating the invention, it will be noted that the assembl contemplated is of the simplest design and may be very economically produced.

All of the cage members are simple stampings and may be stamped from sheet material of uniform width throughout its entire length or substantially its entire length. This renders the production of these devices extremely simple and with substantially no scrap. The assembly, from the standpoint of the person who will subsequently use these devices, presents many features which should be of great advantage. First the assembly is not easily taken apart and, therefore, in shipping and handling such problems as disassociation of the elements is not possible. Secondly, these devices with their locator tabs make the assembly of the article to an apertured work part extremely simple and accurate. Further, the abiilty to fabricate these nut cages with various types of attaching means makes the article adaptable to the various types of installations for which this part will be produced.

The float feature of the nut member relative to the retainer body for permitting alignment of the nut to facilitate threading of a screw therein also provides an important feature. These devices are usually installed in blind installations where the operator installing the subsequent male screw member is unable to reach the panel on which the nut cage device is assembled to make the adjustments. also retains the nut member positively against rotary movement, thereby permitting its use in blind installations is of primary importance.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the specific structural details illustrated herein, but is capable of other modifications and changes coming within the scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A nut and retainer assembly, comprising a solid rectangular nut having a pair of opposed tapered side walls each provided with an axially extending narrow recess through its wider marginal edge, a sheet metal retainer comprising a strip of uniform width having a portion superimposing the nut face of maximum area and tapered side walls complementary to and enclosing the tapered side walls of the nut and providing open ends through which the nut and retainer member may be mutually assembled, the superimposing portion of the retainer member having a bolt-receiving aperture therethrough, said tapered side walls of the nut and the superimposing portion of the retainer member and the complementary side walls of the retainer member cooperating to prevent axial separation of the nut and retainer member while permitting lateral assembly, deformable fingers struck from within the outer and wider margins of said retainer member and disposed in alignment with and extending downwardly into said axially extending recesses for interfitting the nut and retainer member and preventing lateral separation thereof, and means for attaching said retainer member to a work piece and including a base portion extending outwardly from the ends of the tapered side walls of the retainer member adjacent the nut face of minimum area and tabs projecting downwardly from said base portion and adapted to enter a work piece aperture for positioning the assembled nut and retainer member with respect thereto.

2. A nut and retainer assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tabs projecting downwardly from the base portion are struck from the base portion.

3. A nut and retainer assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tabs projecting downwardly from said base portion converge toward each other to facilitate entry into the work piece aperture.

EDMOND C. CROWTHER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,760,834 Carr May 27, 1930 1,768,505 Carr June 24, 1930 1,805,460 Carr May 12, 1931 2,385,991 Huntoon Oct. 2, 1945 2,448,902 McKenzie Sept. 7, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 555,783 Great Britain Sept. 7, 1943 556,419 Great Britain Oct. 4, 1943 597,569 Great Britain Jan. 29, 1948 607,872 Great Britain Sept. '7, 1948 The fact that this assembly 

